Four seasons - a photomontage

Photos:  4x6".  Total size of composite image:  12x15"

Dates taken:  January 2; May 10; July 17; October 12

This pond and stand of trees, in Waterford, CT, is across the road from a large field and series of rock walls that I drive past every few weeks when I go shopping.  I've been intrigued by the area and always enjoy driving by it.  This past winter, I decided that I would begin to document both the field, rock wall, and this pond and tree stand throughout the seasons.  The primary reason was to obtain references for future paintings, so the photos were planned around my shopping trips, usually mid-day, rather than times that would perhaps result in a superior photo taken for its own sake.  As a result, the individual images are pretty average, and I was at the mercy of unfortunate cloud cover (welcome to New England) for the summer and fall photos.  However, when placed together, I think these four photos provide a far more interesting and compelling image than any individual photo could.  I also took some early fall photos on Sept. 25.  For symmetry sake, I did not include the photo in the montage above, but here it is for additional comparison.  It is quite remarkable the change that occurs in just 2 1/2 weeks:

Pond, tree stand with field of Canada goldenrod